October 20, 2011

Two Senses of Occupation

I find it odd that, to the mainstream media, occupation is a negative word used to indicate that Israel is doing something bad to Palestine, and is employed to convey the idea that Israel is denying rights that belong to another nation. However, when Occupy Wall Street occupies private property, which is a park, and denies the rights of its owners to the land, the affair is treated as a normal political activity. There is no longer any negative connotation of illegality or usurpation - instead, it must be OK to do, because it is an attempt to work against big corporations. Why is that the case? Why is the mainstream media not constantly inserting words hinting at the violation of the rights of the owners of the park by Occupy Wall Street, but the mainstream media is constantly inserting such words into stories about Israel and Palestine?